She heard George scream, No! and she saw a fiery explosion and then she was falling, falling, falling down into the dark.

42: Mary

42: Mary

I felt the air move with the shot and then my ears was full of this whistling and rushing noise. Mummy Noreen screamed an awful scream, the sound of it rising up and out of her, and she screamed again and again, and she didn’t stop. I dropped down into the corner, my back agin the wall, my hands over my ears, making myself small. I thought if I made myself small enough, no one would see me there.

Daddy George let out a roar and I watched as it died in him, and it turned to this terrible cry, like a dog with a broken back.

Daddy Tam lowered the rifle. Ach, says he to Daddy George, quit your yapping.

Daddy George quit his crying all right, he near choked on it, but then he threw himself at Daddy Tam and Daddy Tam couldn’t get thon rifle back up quick enough. Daddy George slammed into him like a hammer and the two of them bounced off the wall and onto the floor. The rifle clattered away across the stone and I could have reached out and took it if the notion had entered my head. Daddy Ivan got up on his knees and guldered at them to stop, but there was no stopping them, the two of them rolling and punching and kicking the other. I mind seeing Daddy George bite Daddy Tam on the neck, growling like an animal, and Daddy Tam squealing, then Daddy George was on top of him and he made his fists into a ball and he pounded them into Daddy Tam’s jaw I don’t know how many times. Then he got a holt of Daddy Tam’s hair and he pulled his head up and drove it down into the floor over and over again until Daddy Tam went all loose. All the time, Mummy Noreen was still screaming, and Daddy Ivan was still shouting at them to stop.

Daddy George sat astride him for a lock of seconds, his chest heaving and blood dripping from his mouth, then he crawled off him and over to the rifle. He took a holt of it and pushed himself up onto his feet. He pulled the bolt back and a brass shell came out of it and jangled on the floor, then he pushed the bolt back again.

At the same time, Daddy Tam gathered himself and he got up onto his knees. He looked up, blinking at Daddy George like he didn’t understand what his eyes telt him. Then he let a laugh out of him that turned into a cough that I thought would rip him in two.

Says he, You haven’t got the nerve, boy.